bigest drug bust in U.S. history-OPERATION GEAR GRINDER

It went down Wednesday In San Diego 5 Mexican arrested .owners of Syd group, QV, Bravo, Pet Pharma there are 8 in all. and the indictment of 23 people and a lot more to come. Those where just the ones that where mensioned. The investagation was going on for 2 years, The DEA and Mexican police. It will be a sad day to loose all of them. we all know there will be others to follow.
Could some one please find out the other info on this. I know one is Saturday New york post on page 63, and I think it is CBS San Diego and the DEA web site is where the bast info came from.
remeber- always post all arrests on this and all sites to keep all of our brothers and sisters safe and informed
please be safe and have a happy holladay

It went down Wednesday In San Diego 5 Mexican arrested .owners of Syd group, QV, Bravo, Pet Pharma there are 8 in all. and the indictment of 23 people and a lot more to come. Those where just the ones that where mensioned. The investagation was going on for 2 years, The DEA and Mexican police. It will be a sad day to loose all of them. we all know there will be others to follow.
Could some one please find out the other info on this. I know one is Saturday New york post on page 63, and I think it is CBS San Diego and the DEA web site is where the bast info came from.
remeber- always post all arrests on this and all sites to keep all of our brothers and sisters safe and informed
please be safe and have a happy holladay

yeah i heard about this and they are going to track down a lot of people that ordered from these companies and are really cracking down on internet steroid sites is what ive heard...a know someone on the inside (federal prison) who says a lot of people are getting arrested and put in jail for drug deals they did 4 years ago. apparently feds are checking all sales (especially internet sales and even ones that went down years ago) and busting people for them.

yeah i heard about this and they are going to track down a lot of people that ordered from these companies and are really cracking down on internet steroid sites is what ive heard...a know someone on the inside (federal prison) who says a lot of people are getting arrested and put in jail for drug deals they did 4 years ago. apparently feds are checking all sales (especially internet sales and even ones that went down years ago) and busting people for them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------found this at theanaboliczones.com--

WASHINGTON - U.S. agents arrested a Mexican veterinarian identified as the world's leading maker of anabolicsteroids for humans and have choked the flow of such illegal performance enhancers across the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said Thursday.

It was the largest steroid bust in history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said.

A 21-month investigation targeted steroid traffickers in the United States and eight major Mexican suppliers, who are accused of selling the products on the Internet.

In San Diego, agents on Wednesday captured veterinarian Alberto Saltiel-Cohen of Mexico City, owner of the three largest manufacturers — Quality Vet, Denkall and Animal Power, officials said.

The accused suppliers' businesses accounted for $56 million in steroid sales per year — a large majority of all anabolic steroids flowing into the U.S. from Mexico, authorities said.

DEA agents said the suspected suppliers tried to cover their operations by advertising the steroids as products for animals such as race horses. Customers placed orders online, paid by credit card or wire transfer and the manufacturer sent the product from Mexico, the DEA said.

Agents arrested two suspected traffickers in Laredo — Luis Alberto Flores, a Mexican national, and Blanca Trevino, of Laredo. They, along with 21 others in Mexico and the United States, were indicted on a litany of federal charges.

Flores and Trevino, a veterinary store owner in Nuevo Laredo, allegedly shuttled steroids between the two countries for mass distribution, said Laura Duffy, assistant U.S. attorney in San Diego.

A woman who answered the phone at Trevino's residence declined to comment.

Saltiel-Cohen's main product — nandrolone — is a potent muscle builder that occurs naturally in the human body in tiny quantities. Physicians use it to strengthen the body tissue of HIV-infected men; athletes can use it to bulk up.

The surprise crackdown, code-named Operation Gear Grinder — "gear" is a street term for steroids — came amid several high-profile steroid scandals that have shaken Major League Baseball and much of the sports world.

Authorities said they waited to make the bust, in conjunction with Mexican law enforcement, to hit the manufacturers in a clean sweep — thus preventing any one of the businesses from hiding.

"We want to stop that 16-year-old who's on the cusp of greatness from using, because he's going to ruin his life," said Rusty Payne, a DEA special agent in Washington. "We want to make it hard for manufacturers, we want to squeeze and dry up the supply."

Payne said the investigation uncovered no purchases by major athletes. Instead, he said, many of the buyers turned out to be young athletes, body builders and skinny males.

The DEA identified more than 2,000 U.S. residents who bought steroids from the indicted businesses. The customers include individual users, street dealers and organized trafficking groups in dozens of cities nationwide, including Houston, said Duffy, the San Diego prosecutor.

On Thursday night, agents with the DEA's Houston Division and others nationwide visited some buyers door-to-door — not to make arrests, but to warn them about the dangers of steroids and interview them in hopes of unearthing more traffickers, Payne said.

A local DEA official declined comment.

Steroid and doping watchdogs celebrated the DEA's announcement as a huge victory.

Don H. Catlin, a medical professor at UCLA, a pioneer of drug tests on Olympic athletes, called the results spectacular.

"You know what's going on, you know that orders for steroids are flying around the country by e-mail, but as a citizen, you have limits in what you can accomplish," he said.

---found some more-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK
As of today my supplier called and said ALL anabolic labs are CLOSED and all are being investigated.
The supply of anabolics in Mexico is going FAST. What was made when the labs closed is all that will be able to be sold till they re-open.
Here is the deal... you can still get accessories items without any problems... clomid, clenbuterol , adipex-ambien-nubain - some brands of test aratest, ect.. but products for the main labs are shut down.
He says he is almost SURE they will reopen BUT prices are going to go way up in the future and they wont reopen until they get through the legal bullshit this SHIT EATING COUNTRY (Our DEA) has caused them. (Thanks George - ****ing asshole)
He also said that he personally talked to the distributors of 2 NEW labs that are going to open while the others are under investigation.
These labs will distribute ONLY to Mexican pharmas.... no advertising into the US because thats what got the others shut down.
So, basically the game is going back underground like it used to be in the good ol days.

Now.. for those of my "friends" that have lawn product orders with me... PLEASE be patient... this is out of my control. I will fill what orders i can but when the supply runs out... its going to be a waiting game.
But ... rest assured - the game will go on!

The labs will not reopen selling the same steroids . SAGAR is taking away their registration numbers because all of the labs involved misrepresented their steroids as vet/animal medicine to get approval. Mex Gov't now realizes what was going on and has shut them down. No new "legit" labs will be opening in the future as SAGAR will no longer allow them to import bulk material legally. QV, AP, DK, PP will all shut down, permanently. Tornel/Brovel will continue to manufacture "legit" vet medicines. Loeffler was shutting down their vet product line prior to the US indictment so they will cease to exist as well. All I can say is I told u so

Here is exactly what is going to happen... mark my words.
All those companies will either PAY there way out of this ILLEGAL tampering by the ****ED UP US DEA ..... and keep selling there products to ONLY mexican pharmacies..... where it goes from there is not there fault.
Remember... they didnt get shut down because they produced "10mg bla bla bla" - they got shut down because the greedy bastards who own the companies started selling DIRECTLY to the USA ... skipping the mexican pharmacies. Had they stayed like the good ol day when they shipped ONLY to pharmacies and vet supply companies then they would have never been charged with shit. Period.

Other labs will open... Just like Quality vet did after Ttoykko shut down (OVER THE SALE OF KETAMINE - NO OTHER REASON). These new pharmacies will produce the exact same MG and ML and products as all the others.... EXCEPT the only way you will get them is by going the old route... buying from a pharmacy instead of STRAIGHT from the lab.
They where cutting out the middle man... and they ****ed there self.
I never said anything about UG labs meaning Powerline and all that other stuff thats made in bathtubs.... i meant LEGIT labs that STAY out of the limelight and let the pharms do all the dirty work....ie, Underground .

My question to llbean06 is which UG company do you own or sell for? You sure seem to be pushing that bathtub stuff pretty hard knowing the LABS are closing. (By bathtub i mean... i have SEEN UG products made IN real BATHRUBS.... there for i would remain natural before i would ever use something a dude sitting at home with a crimper and pill press makes - just my opinion ... dont take it as a flame)

BTW.... Powerline will not be popping up in TJ because its PRODUCED in the UNITED STATES and marketed as being made in Mexico - everyone knows this)
__________________

--------------------------------------------------------------------------also found this at theanaboliczones.com------

I live in Baja. This past Wed I took a friend into town to pick up some gear. One of the pharms the carries everything had none and said he is out of that business do to the U.S pressure. So we went to another and he still had everything. Said that he'll be ok thru this month =, but has no idea going into Feb. So guys things are drying up right now. I'll bet the prices of this shit hits the ceiling very shortly if it hasn't already.

(CBS Newspath) SAN DIEGO The Drug Enforcement Administration has announced the largest steroid bust in history. DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy announced the arrest of Albert Saltiel-Cohen, owner of three of the world's largest anabolic steroid manufacturers, as part of the largest steroid enforcement operation in U.S. history.

82 percent of all DEA-seized steroids in U.S. are manufactured in Mexico; the large majority of those come from targets in "Operation Gear Grinder."

DEA Leads Largest Steroid Bust in History; 82 Percent of all DEA- Seized and Analyzed Steroids in U.S. Manufactured in Mexico
US NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy today announced the arrest of Albert Saltiel-Cohen, owner of three of the world's largest anabolic steroid manufacturers, as part of the largest steroid enforcement operation in U.S. history. Operation Gear Grinder is a 21-month Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted eight major steroid manufacturing companies, their owners, and their trafficking associates. By reviewing the sources of all seized and analyzed steroids submitted to the DEA's forensic laboratories, DEA intelligence analysts and diversion investigators found that 82 percent of the steroids seized and analyzed are of Mexican origin. A large majority of those 82 percent seized and analyzed steroids originate from the eight companies identified in Operation Gear Grinder. These businesses conducted their sales via the Internet, and DEA estimates their combined total U.S. steroid sales are $56 million per year.

"Steroid traffickers market their product by luring young people with promises of enhanced performance and appearance," DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy said, "but what they don't say is the illicit use of these harmful drugs can destroy the very bodies that they are supposed to improve. Drug traffickers prey on the belief that steroids enhance ability, but steroids only rob that ability, as we have seen so often from the affected lives of too many youth and professional athletes."

Operation Gear Grinder is part of the Virtual Enforcement Initiative, a coordinated DEA effort to target illegal Internet drug trafficking, which was launched in April with Operation Cyber Chase and continued in September with Operation CYBERx. DEA's cyber initiative acknowledges drug traffickers are embracing the use of 21st century technology to further spread their virus into U.S. communities.

The steroid manufacturers involved in this investigation tried to mask the true consumers of these products by marketing them as being developed and sold for use in animals. The veterinary manufacturers ("laboratorios") took notice of the demand for anabolic steroids and created a marketing strategy tailored to the needs of the U.S. consumer - to include high-quality products and internet websites. Communications via the Internet and parcel distributions were the core of these companies' operations. The websites showcase the products and offer an email address to exchange prices and tracking numbers, and give ordering and payment instructions.

These eight companies used U.S.-based email addresses and listed each manufacturer utilizing a business website to place their products in the hands of American consumers. Some manufacturers provided direct referrals to distributors through the Contact Us section of the websites. The steroids were smuggled into the United States, and shipped to customers. In addition, steroids from the eight companies were also shipped to U.S. traffickers, who re-sold the products to their customers. Financial transactions were primarily done via Western Union wire transfers, as well as bank transfers and credit card payments.

These groups also supplied numerous pharmacies along the U.S./Mexico border, where U.S. customers could purchase steroids and smuggle them back across the border into the United States.

In addition to the Saltiel-Cohen arrest and indictments, DEA today arrested 4 steroid trafficking suspects in San Diego and Laredo, TX. As part of Operation Gear Grinder, DEA also identified over 2,000 U.S. customers that have received steroids from the businesses indicted today. These customers consist of individual users, street-level dealers, and organized trafficking groups in dozens of cities across the country.

2. Company: Laboratorios Tornel; Owner: Luis Bravo-Tornel; Manager: Mauricio Bravo-Berentsen; This manufacturer is a top U.S. supplier of Testosterone Decanoate

3. Company: Laboratorios Brovel; Owner: Arturo Bravo-Valdes; This manufacturer is a top U.S. supplier of Nandrolone Decanoate

4. Company: Pet's Pharma; Owner: Ramon Vargas; Co-Owner- Eduardo Hernandez; This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Testosterone Enanthate

5. Company: Syd Group; Owner: Armando Guzman-Armenta; Associate: Amalia Lara; This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Stanozolol

6. Company: Loeffler; Officer: Jose Angel Garcia-Hinojosa; This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Methandrostenolone

Operation Gear Grinder was coordinated by the DEA Special Operations Division. DEA offices in San Diego, Mexico City, Tijuana, New York, Houston, San Antonio, and Laredo, Texas participated in the investigation.

This investigation was a collaborative effort involving DEA, numerous U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies, and the Mexican Federal Agency of

DEA Leads Largest Steroid Bust in History
82 percent of all DEA-seized and analyzed steroids in U.S. are manufactured in Mexico; Large majority of those come from targets in Operation Gear Grinder

Steroids confiscated in the investigation were marketed to be used with animals via public web sites.

DEC 15--WASHINGTON, DC – DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy today announced the arrest of Albert Saltiel-Cohen, owner of three of the world’s largest anabolic steroid manufacturers, as part of the largest steroid enforcement operation in U.S. history. Operation Gear Grinder is a 21-month Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted eight major steroid manufacturing companies, their owners, and their trafficking associates. By reviewing the sources of all seized and analyzed steroids submitted to the DEA’s forensic laboratories, DEA intelligence analysts and diversion investigators found that 82 percent of the steroids seized and analyzed are of Mexican origin. A large majority of those 82 percent seized and analyzed steroids originate from the eight companies identified in Operation Gear Grinder. These businesses conducted their sales via the Internet, and DEA estimates their combined total U.S. steroid sales are $56 million per year.

“Steroid traffickers market their product by luring young people with promises of enhanced performance and appearance,” DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy said, “but what they don’t say is the illicit use of these harmful drugs can destroy the very bodies that they are supposed to improve. Drug traffickers prey on the belief that steroids enhance ability, but steroids only rob that ability, as we have seen so often from the affected lives of too many youth and professional athletes.”

Operation Gear Grinder is part of the Virtual Enforcement Initiative, a coordinated DEA effort to target illegal Internet drug trafficking, which was launched in April with Operation Cyber Chase and continued in September with Operation CYBERx. DEA’s cyber initiative acknowledges drug traffickers are embracing the use of 21 st century technology to further spread their virus into U.S. communities.

The steroid manufacturers involved in this investigation tried to mask the true consumers of these products by marketing them as being developed and sold for use in animals. The veterinary manufacturers (“laboratorios”) took notice of the demand for anabolic steroids and created a marketing strategy tailored to the needs of the U.S. consumer – to include high-quality products and internet websites. Communications via the Internet and parcel distributions were the core of these companies’ operations. The websites showcase the products and offer an email address to exchange prices and tracking numbers, and give ordering and payment instructions.

These eight companies used U.S.-based email addresses and listed each manufacturer utilizing a business website to place their products in the hands of American consumers. Some manufacturers provided direct referrals to distributors through the Contact Us section of the websites. The steroids were smuggled into the United States, and shipped to customers. In addition, steroids from the eight companies were also shipped to U.S. traffickers, who re-sold the products to their customers. Financial transactions were primarily done via Western Union wire transfers, as well as bank transfers and credit card payments.

These groups also supplied numerous pharmacies along the U.S./Mexico border, where U.S. customers could purchase steroids and smuggle them back across the border into the United States.

In addition to the Saltiel-Cohen arrest and indictments, DEA today arrested 4 steroid trafficking suspects in San Diego and Laredo, TX. As part of Operation Gear Grinder, DEA also identified over 2,000 U.S. customers that have received steroids from the businesses indicted today. These customers consist of individual users, street-level dealers, and organized trafficking groups in dozens of cities across the country.

2. Company: Laboratorios Tornel
Owner: Luis Bravo-Tornel
Manager: Mauricio Bravo-Berentsen
This manufacturer is a top U.S. supplier of Testosterone Decanoate

3. Company: Laboratorios Brovel
Owner: Arturo Bravo-Valdes
This manufacturer is a top U.S. supplier of Nandrolone Decanoate

4. Company: Pet’s Pharma
Owner: Ramon Vargas
Co-Owner-Eduardo Hernandez
This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Testosterone Enanthate

5. Company: Syd Group
Owner: Armando Guzman-Armenta
Associate: Amalia Lara
This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Stanozolol

6. Company: Loeffler
Officer: Jose Angel Garcia-Hinojosa
This manufacturer is a top U.S. source of Methandrostenolone

Operation Gear Grinder was coordinated by the DEA Special Operations Division. DEA offices in San Diego, Mexico City, Tijuana, New York, Houston, San Antonio, and Laredo, Texas participated in the investigation.

This investigation was a collaborative effort involving DEA, numerous U.S state and local law enforcement agencies, and the Mexican Federal Agency of Investigation (AFI).
_________________

from US today
This is th efirst time I ever cut and pasted
DEA makes largest-ever steroid -related arrests
By Kelly Whiteside and Dick Patrick, USA TODAY
The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday that it made its largest steroid bust in history, arresting the owner of three of the world's largest steroid manufacturing companies and four traffickers.
The companies are located in Mexico. The owner, Albert Saltiel-Cohen, was arrested in San Diego.

The DEA also indicted the owners of five other Mexican companies and is waiting for Mexican authorities to extradite them. The traffickers are located in Laredo, Texas, and San Diego.

The arrests follow a 21-month investigation in which the DEA discovered:

• 82% of all DEA-seized and analyzed steroids in U.S. are manufactured in Mexico.

• U.S. steroid sales for these companies are $56 million per year.

The DEA identified more than 2,000 U.S. customers who have bought steroids over the internet from these businesses, including individual users, some of them teenagers, as well as street-level dealers and organized trafficking groups in dozens of cities across the country.

Steroid enforcement experts contend that the key to curbing steroid abuse is targeting the source as well as beefing up weak trafficking penalties.

"This is a huge organization and we know a half million kids have admitted to using steroids in the past year, so I think it's a logical inference that a lot of this stuff is getting down to the high school-age athlete who is buying from the dealer in the gym," said DEA special agent Doug Coleman. "Some of those 2,000 (identified buyers) are young kids, anyone with access to a computer has access to the websites (of the eight companies)."

"Because this is the biggest one we've ever done — we went after the manufacturers as well as the distributors, all the way down to the retail buyers — we're hoping it's going to have a significant impact on the market," said Coleman. "What it shows to everybody out there is that we're going after everyone, it doesn't matter where they're at. It covers the entire steroid trafficking organization, from the manufacturers all the way down to the guy buying on the internet site and selling in the corner gym to the high school kids in there lifting weights."

The DEA has begun locating the 2,000 plus U.S.-based customers, a task complicated by the fact that buyers use fake names and have packages sent to addresses other than their own. "We have agents all over the country trying to track down who all these people are," Coleman said. The DEA will attempt to track these buyers down through shipping records and email addresses. "If they've received packages through the mail we can absolutely charge them with a violation of federal law," Coleman said.

Don Catlin, head of the Olympic testing lab at UCLA, which discovered the test for the designer steroid THG in 2003, hailed the DEA's investigation.

"These are really exciting, heady times," said Catlin. "The government juggernaut keeps rolling on and on, knocking off labs. It started with BALCO and then people and (indicted chemist) Patrick Arnold, government hearings, websites and now the whole system coming out of Mexico. What could be better?"

The arrests come at the end of a year in which professional athletes and the of commissioners of the pro leagues have been assailed at hearings on Capitol Hill about inadequate testing for performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

One of the goals of the House committee on Government Reform was to underscore the danger of these drugs to teens. Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., was unavailable for comment Thursday.

"The reason Davis investigated steroid use in sports, and investigated the ease with which they can purchased online, and introduced legislation aimed at better regulating Internet pharmacies, was simple: keep more young people from doing themselves harm," said Davis spokesman Dave Marin. "If today's arrest keeps steroids out of locker rooms and American households, then it's great news indeed."

Don Hooton also testified before Congress. He believes steroid use led to the suicide death of his teenage son, Taylor.

"This is big news," said Hooton. "I'm extremely pleased for a couple of reasons. First, we're taking the bad guys off the street. This will make a significant dent in the supply of this stuff that is hitting the streets of North America. The most important thing, beyond cutting off the supply for a period of time, is sending a message to the kids and gearheads: this stuff is illegal. It's a felony to possess without a prescription let alone distribute the stuff."

Gary Wadler, a physician, author and drug expert who has testified numerous time at Congressional hearings, wants to see the penalties toughened.

"The real issue to me is what are the consequences of this (DEA bust)" said Wadler. "This gets back to the sentencing guidelines for anabolic steroid violations. I've weighed in that sentences have to be enhanced substantially so there's a consequence. You find these cases, prosecute these cases and win these cases, but the consequences at the end of the day are minimal compared to cocaine, heroin and other street drugs."

A guilty party could receive no more than five years of jail time for a first steroid-trafficking offense.The penalty for a second offense is a maximum of 10 years.

Victor Conte, who plea bargained on charges of steroid distribution and money laundering, has begun serving a four-month prison sentence to be followed by four months of house arrest

I don't know if I will get in trouble but I cut and pasted this stuff from theanaboliczones.com with out there consent. Hope thay don't mind and I know it is a little late but it may help. Thngs are drying up fast. I know one parts guy from Mexico that had 176 different sups on the list and he put a new one out that had only 30 different things on it and said once it is gone he can not get any mor Mexican parts becouse thay all shut down for good